Mercedes Mone on How Nervous & Excited She Felt for Her Match at Tokyo Dome for Wrestle Dynasty & Her Praise of Mina Shirakawa

A recent issue of the Mone Mag fan newsletter featured Mercedes Mone giving her thoughts about how nervous and excited she had felt for her match at the Tokyo Dome at this past Sunday’s NJPW x AEW Wrestle Dynasty event.

“One of the lines Advocate Kev [Keven Undergaro] says to Team-Moné on our various trips is: ‘We’re gonna make history…AGAIN!’ Though I have nerves and butterflies for all my big matches, my match at the Tokyo Dome against Mina was somehow different. From the moment I landed in Japan, where I actually bawled my eyes out with both disbelief and gratitude, to the morning of the event, where I had an actual panic attack, making history was the last thing on my mind. Kev could see my condition on the bus ride and asked: ‘Are you nervous or just excited?’ I replied, ‘Both.’ Truly, it was my lifelong dream to have a match at this level at the Tokyo Dome, so I was beyond excited. Along with the rich wrestling history, I feel as though, in some strange way, Japan, like Mexico, is another home. Yet, for all my joy, I was likewise petrified. I didn’t want to let the promoters down. I didn’t want to let the fans down. I didn’t want to let Mina down. I especially, and as always, didn’t want to let the women wrestlers of today AND tomorrow down. I want New Japan, and all promotions, globally, for that matter, to know that we female athletes deserve prominent recognition and a prominent place on the card.”

Mone also gave her praise of Mina Shirakawa for the match they had together for the NJPW Women’s and RevPro Undisputed British Women’s Championships at the event.

“Mina came at me with full force, and let me tell you, I’m still feeling the impact days later. But I have to admit, there’s something I love about pro wrestling when it’s done right—like how Mina executed everything flawlessly, managing to keep it safe even when it stings.

And let me tell you why else I love Mina. I remember meeting her a few years back when she was in her early 30s. At that time, she was new to our craft and shared her great passion for wrestling with me and wanting to wrestle in the U.S., but she had concerns about her age. She honestly seemed to feel like it was too late for her. I do remember assuring her nothing could be further from the truth. Side note and lesson for all of you, your friends, and your children: it’s never too late for any of us, as Mina proved. And you heard it here from the CEO: you have not seen the last of this girl. She is another superstar on the rise, and I couldn’t be prouder to know her and to have competed against her.”